


i'm starting to miss you

by soulpartner



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, coincidences and "coincidences", dojae are crushing on each other, not slow burn but it's Long, some markhyuck sprinkled in, things don't happen without johnyong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25631587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulpartner/pseuds/soulpartner
Summary: It takes a campus-wide eating contest, a music fair mishap, and a cellphone mix-up (plus a ridiculous number of common friends) to convince Jaehyun and Doyoung that the universe is trying to set them up. Joke's on the universe, they’re already way ahead of it.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 10
Kudos: 59





	i'm starting to miss you

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: tw for brief non-graphic mentions of unhealthy eating habits and vomiting in this fic. food is mentioned a lot bc the beginning 5k(?) of this is purely related to the eating contest. if you see potentially triggering content that i didn't mention please do let me know so i can add them here

When Jaehyun agreed to be a last-minute runner for University Week in exchange for some extra credit on an elective he’s been slacking on, he expected the job to be harder. He imagined the event organizers bossing him around all day and doing some actual running. Jaehyun thinks it still would’ve been better than the alternative, having to listen to a mind-numbing three-hour lecture and writing a 2000-word essay afterward. Like any sane college student with an already unmanageable amount of requirements seven weeks into the semester, he’d pick physical labor over writing a paper any day.

Fortunately, Jaehyun overestimated the work he needs to do because it’s midway through his shift and the most he’s done is set up the tables for the eating contest that’s about to start in half an hour. Irene, the event head, already told him that he’s assigned to monitor the contestants from Table Five during the event–bring them their food, refill their water cups, check if they’ve eaten everything (and be ready with a baggie if they start saying they feel a little funny). 

The event this year advertised animated Disney movie food and it attracted quite a number of people. A lot of people. Over three times what the usual turnout would be. The organizers had to limit the maximum number of contestants and hike up the admission fee, but the promise of themed food and a cash prize still caused a buzz among the students. That’s where Jaehyun comes into the picture, the event team needed more people than they thought because they didn’t anticipate the large crowd that would participate. He wasn't going to say no when he got promised food and free admission to the party at the end of the week. 

“Dude, did you see the cakes for the final round? It’s _so_ tall. It probably has like, five tiers or something," Mark describes with his hands, approaching Jaehyun after coming out of the back room. "I don't even think I can eat a quarter of that without feeling full."

"Would you even get that far?" Jaehyun inquires with the quirk of an eyebrow. He’s sitting on the bleachers, scrolling through social media as he waits for the event to begin. "You don't look like you'll get past the third round."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mark exclaims, laughing. "I can hold my food."

"Sure. But your clumsy ass would probably drop the food before it reaches your mouth,” Jaehyun points out.

Mark is here for the same reason Jaehyun is. They share the same Econ elective. In another world, they probably didn't need extra credit and would be here as participants instead of waiters. Just talking about the food is already making Jaehyun a little hungry.

Before Mark could defend himself, the emcee's voice rings through the gym. "Everyone listen up. We're gonna start letting people inside in ten minutes. Please proceed to your designated stations."

Jaehyun stands up from where he was sitting, stretching his arms out. “Later,” he bids Mark before they split up and Jaehyun makes his way beside the table with a banner displaying only a bolded number five.

He's fiddling with his phone when someone calls his name and he looks up to see Taeyong waving his hand at him. Next to him stands an unfamiliar figure, a bit taller than Taeyong, frowning at his cellphone.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in a while," Jaehyun greets the older boy.

Jaehyun met Taeyong on the first day of freshmen orientation week, when he got separated from his group and he asked help from the first person who caught his eye, a similarly confused-looking, pink-haired boy. He figured Taeyong was a freshman who was lost just like him, but it turned out that was just the older boy's perpetual appearance and he was an incoming sophomore at the university. Taeyong guided him to where he was supposed to be and they've been friends ever since.

"It's 'cause you never text me anymore," Taeyong teases. "Little Jaehyunie's all grown up and doesn't need his hyung to accompany him." 

The boy standing next to Taeyong lets out a laugh and Jaehyun feels his face heating up. 

"Shut up, hyung. That was literally only one time," he protests then turns to the other person, "Please don't listen to him, he's lying." Jaehyun's still feeling a little embarrassed, but then he locks eyes with the nameless boy for a split-second and all thoughts get wiped from his brain. 

He doesn’t think he’s seen eyes so pretty before. Or maybe that's just because the stranger is pretty. He has the kind of face that’s hard to figure out at first glance, and maybe that’s why Jaehyun’s staring. He’s not one to wax poetic, but the juxtaposition of his soft, rounded cheeks, his slanted eyes, and the delicate arch of his lips with his sharp nose and strong gaze was something to write home about. 

"Are you here for the contest too? Who's your partner?" Taeyong asks, snapping him out of his concentrated gaze. Jaehyun knows it’s a stretch, but he’s hoping that neither of them noticed him blatantly gawking.

"I wish," Jaehyun answers, trying hard to stay calm. Like he hadn’t just seen the most beautiful boy in his life. "I'm part of the crew, and it looks like you guys are assigned to my table," he adds after he notices the number 23 stuck onto their shirts.

"Oh. I forgot to introduce you two," Taeyong says. "Jaehyun, this is Doyoung. Doyoung, Jaehyun." Jaehyun’s eyes light up, recognizing the name from when Taeyong mentions it in passing.

"Nice to meet you," Jaehyun smiles at Doyoung and the black-haired boy returns it, showing off a perfect set of teeth and a gummy smile. Internally, Jaehyun is yelling because _of course_ his smile would be pretty too.

"Likewise," he replies, still grinning. "I'm glad I'm finally able to meet the younger friend Taeyong has talked about."

"Only good things I hope."

Doyoung lifts the corner of his lips, raises the hand closer to Taeyong, as if he's excluding him from the conversation, and leans closer to Jaehyun like he's about to tell a secret, "Between you and me, Taeyong's not really good at keeping secrets. I know all about the library incident. I'm sorry."

Embarrassment floods through Jaehyun again. "Hyung! I don't think that was your secret to tell!" he gripes, glaring at the older boy.

Taeyong only scratches his head, smiling guiltily. "Sorry."

"I want a better friend. Doyoung hyung please be my friend instead," Jaehyun huffs haughtily, crossing his arms and pouting, making Doyoung laugh again. He's starting to like that sound.

"Jaehyun, I don't know what first impression you have of Doyoung but he's not the nice person you think he is," Taeyong warns jokingly. "He actually didn't let me eat two days before today. He said it was preparation."

"Stop exaggerating!" Doyoung cries out, playfully shoving Taeyong's shoulder. "It was your idea to join this thing, I'm just giving us a fighting chance!"

"You didn't have to be so competitive about it! You didn't even want to go."

"You know what you signed up for when you asked me to be your partner," Doyoung replies, sticking out his tongue.

Jaehyun watches on in amusement, chuckling over the exchange. Doyoung seems like a great person to be around.

"Besides," Doyoung continues and then he slightly turns to look at Jaehyun's general direction, catching his eye, "I'm sort of glad I went."

Jaehyun blanks at the admission, not knowing what to think. He doesn't want to be presumptuous after all, but it sounded a lot like Doyoung was referring to him. 

He's gotten more forward statements from other people who were interested in him, so it wouldn't be surprising if it was. And it's not like Jaehyun isn't interested in him too. 

But now isn't the time. Not when more people are filing into the gym and Jaehyun needs to keep his focus on doing his job properly.

"Good luck! I'll be rooting for you guys," he tells them and they both nod in thanks.

Jaehyun scans the crowd to see if anyone else he knows is participating, recognizing a few familiar faces from electives he's taken.

When the emcee, Baekhyun, begins the greetings, all the chatter stops and everyone pays close attention.

"Welcome to the 8th annual eating contest of SMU! We're all excited for the big turnout this year and we hope you won't be disappointed.

"Just a few mechanics you need to know before we start. As we all know, the theme this year is animated Disney movie food! Anyone have any guesses?" Baekhyun asks the participants and the audience.

A few people from the crowd shout out their answers.

"I heard some good ones. Let's find out if anyone guessed correctly." He begins to read from a cue card, "The eating contest has five rounds and we put twists in some of them to make things interesting. You have one goal in every round, to eat as fast as you can to proceed to the next one. You won't have time limits and everyone will be served the same exact amount of food," Baekhyun continues and Jaehyun zones out the rest. He still remembers all the rules from the staff orientation earlier.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jaehyun watches Taeyong and Doyoung discussing strategies. Jaehyun knew Doyoung's name because Taeyong talks about him, but he can't seem to remember if he was just a friend or if they were dating. Wouldn't Taeyong introduce him to Jaehyun as his boyfriend if they were?

Jaehyun halts his thoughts when he sees Mingyu from the back room signal the runners. They surreptitiously go inside to grab boxes for the first event.

"Now we'll start you off a little easy. Anyone hungry for some out of this world pizza? Our first round is going to be Supernova pizzas from Pizza Planet! A classic staple to the college student diet. There are seventy pairs in the beginning, but only half of you can proceed to the next round."

Jaehyun and the rest of the runners return to their tables and place one large pizza in front of each pair.

"I hope that doesn't have any pineapples," Taeyong says to no one in particular.

"What's wrong with pineapples?" Jaehyun asks. He _likes_ pineapples on pizza.

"Yeah, what did pineapples ever do to you?" Doyoung backs him up. Jaehyun decides he likes Doyoung very much.

Before Taeyong could respond, Baekhyun speaks into the microphone again, "Everyone, on the count of three, open your boxes and press your stopwatches to start. Raise your flags when you're done so the monitor can check your plate.

"Three. Two. One. Go!"

The contestants begin in a frenzy. Jaehyun carefully watches the five pairs he's assigned to.

"Oh thank God!" he hears Taeyong cry out because there weren't any pineapples on the pizza. He looks at the pair and watches Doyoung playfully roll his eyes before picking up a slice and eating it.

Something about the older boy interests Jaehyun, and if it's only because of his initial attraction or something deeper than that, he doesn't know yet.

All around Jaehyun, participants were laughing at their partners or whining in between bites of pizza. If he looks a little too much at pair 23, nobody else seems to notice.

A few seconds past the six-minute mark, someone from Table One raises their flag.

"There we have it, folks! Our first pair to move onto the next round, Team 4!" Baekhyun announces and the audience begins to cheer.

"What the hell?" Jaehyun hears Doyoung mumble, "How did they eat this thing so fucking fast?" Then, he takes a large gulp of water. Their own pie still has a third of the way to go before they were done.

Eventually, more and more people finish their pizzas. Baekhyun announces that only 10 more teams could move on. At Jaehyun's own table, only one team had finished.

"Come on Yong," Doyoung cries out, muffled because of the food still in his mouth, then finishes his last slice with a large bite. "Almost there."

Taeyong simultaneously chews and bites into his remaining slice. The team beside them, pair 24, raises their flag and Jaehyun checks their pizza box, stopping the time on their stopwatch.

"Six more teams left!" Baekhyun says at the same time Taeyong raises their flag. Jaehyun lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He checks if they've eaten everything and gives them a thumbs up. "Make that five."

"Nine minutes, thirty-seven seconds. Good job!" Jaehyun congratulates them.

"Thanks," Doyoung responds, still clearly overwhelmed. 

"And," Baekhyun draws out. "The first round is officially over! Congratulations to the remaining thirty-five teams. To the other thirty-five, I'm sorry but the contest ends here. Feel free to take home your remaining pizza or continue to watch the rest of the teams to see who will win.

"For the second round, we'll be having another pie!" A chorus of groans rings through the gym, making some people laugh. "This time it's for dessert! Two heavenly-smelling gooseberry pies that will wake you up better than a prince's kiss and will definitely not make you grumpy. But there's a catch! You have to feed your partner only with a single hand. One person uses their left, and the other uses their right and you have to lock your other arms together. This time only twenty teams can move onto the next round."

"Need any help with that?" Donghyuck asks, noticing Jaehyun trying to balance all the pies. He's one of the Food Technology students who prepared the food for the event, so his work for the day is done.

"Nah, it's okay I can manage," Jaehyun answers, showing Donghyuck the balanced pies he's holding in one hand. "Why aren't you watching the contest?"

"And see the people tearing through my food with only the goal of finishing them quickly without any appreciation for flavor or appearance?" Donghyuck sniffs, "No thanks. I might watch the fourth round though, I wanna see their reactions to the surprise," the younger boy grins sneakily, rubbing his palms together.

"You're a menace Hyuck," Jaehyun teases.

"Tell me something I don't know."

When Jaehyun comes back to the table, the remaining three teams have already locked their arms together. Doyoung and Taeyong however, took it an extra step further and have started elbowing each other.

Jaehyun watches them while shaking his head. "Are you sure you're both older than me?"

"He started it!" They reply at the same time, which just makes Jaehyun grin wider.

Then, the signal for the second round begins and all thoughts besides eating are set aside for the meantime. The space is loud with the cheers of the audience while the participants are messily eating the pies, juice dripping down their hands and faces.

"Slow down Doyoung," Taeyong complains. "I'm gonna choke if you keep that up."

"Fine, but chew faster!"

"I'm trying!"

Baekhyun begins to announce the team numbers of people who passed and it doesn't take long before the second round ends. Doyoung and Taeyong do better and end up as the 8th team to finish while another team from Jaehyun's table get booted.

A ten-minute break is announced and a collective sigh of relief from the contestants earns another laugh from the audience.

"I regret everything," Taeyong announces while clutching his stomach, looking pained.

"Is that you saying you wanna throw in the towel?" Doyoung asks.

"No. No, of course not. What do you take me for?" Taeyong intones in a way that clearly means the opposite. "Unless?"

"We're already here Yongie, let's lose fair and square and not quit when we're still in the running," Doyoung reasons.

Taeyong grumbles, "Fine. The next round better be worth it."

"Thank you. We'll quit if we can't handle the next round."

"Jaehyunie," Taeyong drawls, including Jaehyun into the conversation, "How much harder will the coming rounds be?"

"You know I can't answer that," Jaehyun says.

"C'mon it'll be our little secret."

"Nope. You aren't getting anything," Jaehyun says looking at Taeyong, and then somehow his eyes land on Doyoung, who was already looking at him. They stare at each other for a moment until Jaehyun blinks. "They're gonna be a bit more creative, but you didn't hear that from me."

"Now I'm just more confused," Taeyong says, frowning.

Jaehyun shrugs.

The contest resumes when Baekhyun announces the next dish, "Here comes our first twist of the evening! It has something to do with spaghetti and," he pauses for suspense, "Spoons! You'll be eating a whole plate of spaghetti using only spoons. It's much harder than you think and definitely not as romantic as the scene from Lady and the Tramp."

  
  


-

  
  


Today just might be one of the worst days of Doyoung's year. He's shoveling spaghetti into his mouth with a spoon (or at least attempting to). He doesn't even like spaghetti. He was already full two rounds ago and he thinks he's a few spoonfuls away from throwing up. _Fun._ The only thing keeping him from spewing the contents of his stomach is sheer competitiveness. 

But at least, he expected these things to happen. What he didn't anticipate was Taeyong's friend to be their monitor. The cherry on top of the fucking cake that is this disaster of a situation he's gotten himself into is the fact that a really attractive boy has been watching him unattractively stuff his face with food for a better part of the hour. _Great._ He never does well when he's nervous. And because he's the weak gay that he is, the only things that make him nervous are cute boys and large animals. 

He regrets convincing Taeyong to not quit after round two. Why did he have to act like he didn't wanna quit too? _Why_ must Doyoung be fueled by competition? They probably won't even get to the final round when they've been barely scraping by. They should have quit when their digestive tracts were still intact.

Just then, the emcee speaks into the microphone to announce that three groups are finished.

He holds the spoonful of spaghetti wrong and he barely manages to catch the pasta noodles with his hand to return it to the plate. He needs to be more cautious, food dropped on the ground adds ten seconds to their final score and he didn't want to lose because he wasn't more careful with the spaghetti. Even when the only thing he wants to be doing is hurling the plate across the room.

Taeyong has been doing well beside him. He glances at the other team on their table and he estimates they're ahead by a few spoonfuls. They're three-quarters of the way through the plate when he hears the emcee say only three more teams would be able to move on to the next round. He eats faster and gets more anxious every time another team finishes.

Once he gets to his last bite, he swallows quickly and alerts Jaehyun that they're done by raising their flag, opening his mouth while Taeyong does the same. Doyoung can feel relief flooding through him until the emcee speaks up.

"Uh oh. Looks like we have a problem. Two teams raised their flags at the same time."

Of fucking course there's a tie.

"We just have to check the stopwatches to see if there's any difference."

Doyoung and Taeyong glance at each other, mirroring the same expression. He doesn't know what he wants more–to win or to lose. He's ready to call it a day, but the consolation of prize money is the least he could get for potentially fucking up his digestive system.

He watches Jaehyun approach the stage to show them their stopwatch and Doyoung definitely does _not_ check him out.

Instinctively, he grabs Taeyong's hand, still unsure of what he wants the result to be. Neither of them talk, too nervous about the outcome.

"Team 23 finished with a time of six minutes and thirty-six point twenty-four seconds," Baekhyun says into the mic, "And team 55 with six minutes and thirty-six point thirty seconds. Congratulations Team 23!"

Beside him, Taeyong lets out a noise of dread. Doyoung pats his back. "You okay? We can tell them we don't wanna continue anymore if you want."

Taeyong stands up a little straighter. "Nah, a win is still a win and we got nervous for nothing if we drop out now."

"Yeah okay. We're only two rounds away from the prize. Who knows and we might actually win this thing, right?" Doyoung jokes.

"Exactly," Taeyong agrees, grinning.

"Well, well. If it isn't my least favorite cousin," a new voice pipes in.

Doyoung whips his head towards the direction of the sound, narrowing his eyes at the familiar voice. "What are you doing here Donghyuck?"

"Cousins?" Jaehyun questions, standing beside Donghyuck, eyes flitting back and forth between the two of them.

"Something like that," Doyoung answers and then adds, "You two know each other?"

"We're friends," Donghyuck supplies for Jaehyun, and Doyoung acknowledges it with a nod.

"You haven't answered my question," Doyoung says.

"Who do you think prepared all that food you were eating?" Donghyuck replies, raising an eyebrow. "Speaking of, I'm so happy you made it to Round 4," he says with eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Fuck. Yong I take it back. We should probably quit now, knowing Donghyuck he probably put something disgusting in there," Doyoung says unsurely, the pit of his stomach filling with dread. His track record with Donghyuck and anything food-related hasn't been the greatest.

"Relax. I didn't know you were participating. The food's not gonna kill you," Donghyuck states.

"Doubtful," Doyoung retorts. "I don't wanna risk it," he whispers to Taeyong.

"You're overreacting," Taeyong tells him. "And that after we just talked about winning."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to quit a round ago?" Doyoung asks.

"Weren't you the one who told me not to quit a round ago?" Taeyong shoots back.

"Touchè.”

When the emcee announces the beginning of the next round, Donghyuck wishes him an ominous 'good luck' and grins wickedly, making faces at him immaturely. Doyoung resists the urge to be petty and do the same.

Once Jaehyun places the suspicious plate for Round 4 in front of them ("Spinach Puff Surprise! Just a spoiler though, it won't turn you into a llama but it might throw off your groove," echoes Baekhyun's voice _and it doesn't even make sense because Kronk spiked the wine and not the spinach puffs_ Doyoung thinks) and the timer starts, Doyoung hurriedly bites into one of the large spinach puffs. He tentatively chews a couple of times before the heat begins to hit him and he feels the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

“This is my end,” he croaks out, attempting to swallow the spicy mouthful. Doyoung’s not trying to be dramatic, but he really can’t eat any sort of spicy food. Donghyuck knew he wasn't going to get out of that round in one piece. Curse that little demon. 

He glances at Taeyong to find the other already looking at him and all it takes is that split-second eye contact for them to pick up the garbage bag and simultaneously spit out the contents of their mouths. Taeyong breaks out into a laugh and Doyoung follows, ignoring the clock and the other competitors.

"So much for getting to the finals."

  
  


-

  
  


“Are you really okay?” Jaehyun asks a hiccuping Doyoung. He’s been doing that since he ate the spicy spinach puffs and Jaehyun’s gotten a bit concerned.

“Yeah,” Doyoung replies, still hiccuping. He grabs the water bottle next to him and finishes it all in one gulp. “It’ll go away in a while.”

“Okay, let me know if you need anything,” Jaehyun says.

Doyoung makes a sound of affirmation. They’re both sitting on the bleachers with the rest of the spectators, waiting for Taeyong to come back from the bathroom. Donghyuck has made his way over to Mark, his boyfriend, all the way across the room. Since Doyoung and Taeyong were the only pair left at Jaehyun’s table before they gave up, he’s free for the remaining duration of the contest. He debates on staying until it ends or calling it a night, his earlier appetite lost. Who knew watching people eat three days’ worth of food in one sitting could make him feel so full? 

“What’s the deal with you and Donghyuck?” Jaehyun blurts out. He’s not one to mind other people’s business but he’s been curious about it since their earlier interaction. “Family drama?”

“Oh that? It’s nothing like that. We're not enemies or anything… usually," Doyoung admits. Jaehyun nods, waiting for him to continue. "I was just pissed off because I was supposed to spend the past weekend with my favorite person in the entire world but he ditched me for Donghyuck."

Jaehyun frowns, confused with the explanation. _Favorite person? Does this mean he has a boyfriend?_ "Your boyfriend cheated on you with Donghyuck? Donghyuck’s cheating on Mark?"

"Huh?" the older boy exclaims, eyebrows furrowed. "No! Oh God. I should've worded that better. I'm sorry!" Doyoung says, laughing a little at Jaehyun's confusion. "I'm talking about my cousin! Me and Donghyuck share a cousin. You might know him actually, his name's Jeno."

“Oh,” Jaehyun draws out in understanding. “Yeah, I know Jeno. I didn’t know they were cousins though, and you too. I, uh, haven’t seen you with Taeyong or Donghyuck or Jeno before.”

“I’m not one for social interaction outside people I see every day,” Doyoung explains, scratching his ear. “I usually just stay at the Performing Arts building and my friends are already a handful. I’m a Vocal Performance major, by the way.”

Jaehyun nods, storing this information somewhere in his mind for potential future use. Maybe he’ll need to ask Taeyong for something in the PA building one of these days, or maybe he’ll get inspired to take a music elective next semester. 

“That makes sense. Your building’s pretty far from where mine is. I’m an Education major.”

“You know what? I can totally see that!” Doyoung says enthusiastically, his face lighting up. Up close like this, he notices Doyoung's tiny dimple. 

“What does that even mean?” he asks, smiling.

“You just give off that vibe, I guess,” Doyoung answers. His eyes shift from looking at Jaehyun to something past him. “What took you so long? Long line at the bathroom?”

Jaehyun looks behind him to see Taeyong approaching. 

“I was looking for a better view of the finalists. Man, that was intense. I didn't know you could eat a cake that fast. And someone threw up right after they finished eating,” Taeyong explains, shuddering. Doyoung makes a face. “We dodged a bullet there, Doie.”

“Wait. The contest is over? Thank God. I'm never joining one of these again,” Doyoung says. Taeyong hums in agreement, nodding his head.

“Who won?” Jaehyun asks Taeyong. He didn't realize he and Doyoung had been talking so long or so seriously that they would forget about the contest entirely.

“Who else? The pair from Team 4 are unreal. It’s like they're pro eaters,” Taeyong sighs, “No one else stood a chance.”

"Should we head out?" Doyoung turns to Taeyong after a moment of silence from all three of them.

"Mhm. It's getting pretty late," Taeyong agrees, then turns to Jaehyun. "What about you Jaehyun, are you leaving?"

"I probably can't yet. I'll go see if I need to do anything else," Jaehyun answers. He's actually gotten a text from Mingyu earlier that some of the crew has already started eating in the back room, since most of them didn't have anyone to monitor anymore. He chose to ignore the text for obvious reasons.

"Oh, okay. It was really nice to meet you Jaehyun," Doyoung tells him, sounding a little strange. Jaehyun is trying hard not to overthink it.

"Me too! See you around," he says a little too eager. He hopes he's not being too obvious.

"Bye, Jaehyun!" Taeyong says, looping his arm around Doyoung's as they head towards the gym exit.

"Bye, hyung!"

Jaehyun deflates, feeling sad about not getting to spend more time with Doyoung. He admits he might have developed a crush.

  
  


-

  
  


Sometimes, Doyoung forgets how popular Taeyong actually is outside their friend group. He's not varsity team level popular, but he's gained a bit of a fanbase from always performing at (and winning) the semesterly showcase. He's even gone viral before because of a video someone posted of him back in freshman year. Doyoung can't imagine having all that attention on him at all times, and he's always wondered how Taeyong could appear so relaxed when everyone's eyes are on him. _Especially_ when he knows his friend is anything but. Doyoung imagines that it's quite different to be on a stage when he's too busy thinking of doing his best performance to worry about the audience compared to being casually out in public with random strangers whispering your name.

It’s easy to forget when Taeyong spends more time holed up in the dance studio or at his dorm room playing video games in his spare time than out partying on the weekends. Doyoung isn't any better, of course. He’s equally just as bad at socializing, but being secretary of the Music Department student council guarantees that he talks to more people than Taeyong on a regular basis. That’s probably why they became fast friends, sharing the silence together comfortably. 

Not this time though, because they’re at the annual University Week music fair. It’s one of the most anticipated events of the year, even if it happens the week before midterms. They’ve made it a tradition to always attend no matter what, and this time is no exception.

Back to the matter at hand. Taeyong's been dragged away from him by who he presumes are underclassmen asking him for a picture and he's left waiting in line to enter the gates. It always somehow starts as a pair of people wanting a selfie to more and more people recognizing him and wanting the same. It's like watching a celebrity get mobbed by fans. 

Sometimes it's entertaining, but he knows how nervous Taeyong gets around them. Usually, that's when Doyoung helps him. Too bad he's in the middle of the line and they've already been waiting fifteen minutes, so he's not about to give up his spot for them to end up waiting another half hour to get inside. If only Taeyong's campus celebrity status could give them actual perks.

Before Doyoung could think of an elaborate plan to get Taeyong out of his predicament without having to take a step away from his current location, Taeyong appears beside him, already finished disentangling himself from his little group of admirers.

Doyoung stares at him in mild surprise. "Wow. You came out alive," he says. Taeyong's too nice to refuse other people so it was always up to Doyoung to make him stop.

Taeyong crosses his arms, turning his nose up. "No thanks to you," Taeyong pouts and then adds, "Apparently, WAYV just got here so everyone lost interest in me pretty quickly to go look for them instead."

Doyoung nods, accepting the explanation. "They've gotten bigger, then?" 

_It was about time_ Doyoung thinks, mind drifting towards the group. He's friends with a couple of them and he's watched their gigs a few times and it always bugged him how few people used to pay them attention. He's glad that they're finally getting the recognition.

"Yeah. I've been meaning to treat them to a round of drinks to celebrate one of these days but the timing's never right," Taeyong answers. He must still be feeling conflicted because Doyoung notices his mood shift.

Well if that's not a good opening then what is? He thinks it's better to have this conversation now than later.

"The timing's off?" Doyoung scoffs, disbelief apparent in his tone. "Is that what we're gonna call you and Ten tiptoeing around each other now?"

Taeyong's posture stiffens. "Where's Jungwoo and Taeil?" he asks, ignoring Doyoung's own questions.

Doyoung presses his lips together, dropping it for the time being. He hates when Taeyong gets like this because he's the same and nothing ever gets resolved, but maybe talking about it in this situation, especially when they're supposed to be out having fun, isn't appropriate. "They texted the group chat earlier. They're still eating so they'll probably be a while."

They're nearly at the front of the line now and Doyoung can finally see the tents and the crowd behind the barricades. He spots a familiar figure, looking a lot like Johnny, near one of the game booths. He has his head thrown back in laughter while his arm is draped around another boy's figure next to him. Doyoung can't tell who it is because they're turned away from him, but something about the sight of them bothers him.

Doyoung whips his head to Taeyong, worried if he's seen Johnny, but the other is looking towards a different direction. Doyoung sighs in relief. Questions are buzzing through his mind, but at least Taeyong hasn't seen Johnny yet. Deciding he'll just be forward instead of assuming anything, he opens his phone to shoot a few texts.

When it's finally their turn, they hand in their tickets and get their wrists stamped. 

"Where do you wanna go first?" Doyoung says, clasping Taeyong's hand to lead him away from the game booths.

"I don't really know," Taeyong replies, looking around. "Should we go on one of those carnival rides?"

"Okay," Doyoung quickly agrees, turning around to go to the ticket booth. His only goal right now is to move Taeyong away from Johnny's general vicinity.

He takes a step forward, not noticing the figure running towards him from the side. "Doyoung!" Joy calls out, making Doyoung jump in surprise, before she wraps her arms around him.

"Whoa there, are you trying to kill me?" Doyoung says, trying to get out of her tight grip. 

"I'm so happy I saw you!" she cries. "You know I love you so much, right?" He's looking around, trying to see if anyone's looking at them. He didn't want people to get the wrong idea.

"Are you okay?" Taeyong asks the same time Doyoung says, "Are you drunk right now?" sniffing her to check if she smells like alcohol.

She laughs, somewhat hysterically, further concerning Doyoung. "Nope! Just _really_ happy to see you," she says and then straightens up. She takes Doyoung's hand in hers, "Could I possibly ask you for a teeny-tiny, little favor?"

 _Oh no._ "I don't like the sound of this."

"Come on, Doyoung. Hear me out at least," Joy says with puppy-dog eyes.

Doyoung sighs in defeat, "What?"

"You know how I'm an organizer tonight right? We–" she starts. Her voice is even, but her foot tapping isn't lost on Doyoung. She's worrying about something.

"Exactly why this is giving me a bad feeling," Doyoung cuts in. He's got a feeling that whatever Joy's going to ask him for right now doesn't exactly line up with his plans for the night.

"Shh! Let me finish," Joy snaps, glaring at him. Doyoung knows when to back down so he remains silent. "We need someone to perform tonight because one of the artists had a scheduling conflict, so a slot is free. The other acts still need to set up equipment and we really need someone to cover the fifteen minutes."

Doyoung stares at her, then at Taeyong, who only shrugs his shoulders. Offering him no excuse.

"I don't know. I'm not really ready to perform right now," Doyoung says unsurely, fiddling with his hands.

This isn't the first time he's been asked for an impromptu performance, but he's never had to sing in front of such a large audience before. It's nothing like a showcase or a talent show, he doesn't have to worry about being assessed, yet he can't help but compare himself to the other acts performing tonight.

"You can totally do this. Right, Taeyong?" Joy encourages. 

Taeyong nods. "I'm with Joy on this one. It's a good opportunity and you have nothing to lose, Doie."

"You're one of the most talented singers I know. This is gonna be a walk in the park for you," she urges. Her eyes are so hopeful, Doyoung would feel so guilty if he let her down.

Doyoung knows for a fact that he's not a bad singer, but that's not what he's worried about. This isn't really his scene, musically speaking.

"How urgent do you need a performer?" Both their eyes light up, so Doyoung raises his hands in front of him. "Hold up. I didn't say I agreed yet."

"Literally the next act after this."

Doyoung massages his temples and takes a deep breath. "You _so_ owe me a lot for doing this."

  
  


-

  
  


Jaehyun likes to think he's found the perfect balance between working hard and playing hard (and making time for everything else in between). He only parties on Friday nights because that's the only day he can sleep in. (He'd gotten over the high of drinking until he blacks out pretty quickly, after a traumatizing event back in his very first semester that nearly cost him his scholarship.) He spends his weekends playing sports or going to the gym. He sets a designated time every week to call his mom and his grandmother to update them on what he's been doing. He volunteers at his department library to read to kids every Thursday and he spends his nights at his apartment, either gaming or exercising.

His routine isn't perfect and he still finds himself struggling to catch up with essay deadlines or homework due, but he's trying his best and he's never had a final grade lower than 90% so it must be working, at least. Sometimes he deviates from this routine, like when he decides to eat out and go watch a movie with his friends or if he has something scheduled, but it mostly stays the same.

This Wednesday night is an exception. He somehow let Johnny convince him to go to the music fair tonight so he has to suffer the consequences of not being able to get enough sleep on a weekday with an 8 AM class scheduled the next day.

_(It went something like this:_

_"Jaehyun, you_ have _to go with me," Johnny's voice filters through his headset._

_The strong glare of his screen is the only source of light left in the room after he turned everything else off, so Jaehyun is squinting, adjusting to the lighting. "I'm not really in the mood," he replies while waiting for the start screen to load._

_He hears a pseudo-offended gasp from Johnny's end. “So you’re gonna leave me all by myself?"_

_"Don't you have any other friends to go with?" Jaehyun complains. He's still deciding on what character to pick. "Are you ready?"_

_Johnny hums in affirmation. The game begins and he nearly doesn't pick up on Johnny murmuring, "You're my only single friend," followed by a loud laugh._

_It's Jaehyun's turn to make an offended sound. "Shut up. I don't see you dating anyone."_

_Jaehyun leans forward in concentration, all thoughts of conversation put on hold. If anyone else was at his apartment, they'd only hear the sound of his fingers hitting the keyboard, the clicking of his mouse, and the occasional curse word when something in the game doesn't go his way._

_He barely registers Johnny speaking again, too engrossed with what's happening on his monitor screen. "... the person I've been talking to hasn't reached out in two weeks. We were making plans about going together so I bought tickets early," Johnny explains. "Are you gonna let these tickets go to waste?"_

_Well. This sounds like too serious of a conversation to be having over a game._

_Jaehyun briefly considers saying a meaningful reply, but he ends up teasing him with, "I can't believe you got ghosted." After a moment, he adds. "You really liked them didn't you?"_

_He noticed that Johnny had been less attached to his phone and that he seemed a little less giggly lately, he didn't think it would be because of a boy though. Johnny_ never _takes flings seriously. Before this conversation, he hadn't even told Jaehyun that he was seeing someone more than casually._

_"Yeah, well it happens," his friend replies. "If you feel bad for me you'd go with me to make me forget about it," he presses on._

_Jaehyun shakes his head, chuckling. "And wait for you to find a new hookup at the end of the night and leave me?"_

_Johnny lets out another scandalized gasp and Jaehyun can picture his reaction in his head. "What if it's the other way around?"_

_"I don't do hookups," Jaehyun reminds him._

_"That's why you're boring and you need me in your life. So we're gonna go to the fair and we're gonna have a ton of fun," Johnny proposes. "Plus, Sicheng's band is performing,"_

_He's already made up his mind to go, but just to mess with his friend, "Why didn't you say that earlier? I'm game."_

_Johnny clicks his tongue. "I can't believe you."_

_"I'll go if you beat me on a one versus one."_

_"Game on.")_

Contrary to what Jaehyun said, Johnny hasn’t ditched him yet. They’re in front of a balloon dart game and Jaehyun’s on his final dart to win the grand prize, an alpaca plushie, with Johnny chanting his name right next to him. He throws the dart, half afraid of missing the target, but it hits the balloon with a loud pop. Feeling elated, he jumps in excitement, pumping his fist and Johnny wraps him in a bear hug while laughing. He accepts the plushie from the game operator and squishes it tightly.

They’re surrounded with the contagious energy and sounds of enjoyment of other fair-goers, and if it wasn’t for the dark sky above, it would seem like it wasn’t even nighttime yet with how bright everything around them is. They maneuver their way through the booths and the people to get nearer to the stage, tired of walking around and wanting to find a spot to jam out to the music.

“Want a corn dog? My treat,” Jaehyun offers when they pass by a stand.

Johnny doesn’t respond, too busy laughing silently while looking at his phone. “Jae, look at this,” he says, showing the screen to Jaehyun.

_________________________

**dodo bunny (9:48)**

i think i see u

are u wearing a denim shirt?

and is that ur bf o_o

**johnathan (10:03)**

that’s me!!!! wru?

n i dont have a bf wdym

__________________________

“I think my friend thought we were a couple,” Johnny chuckles.

Jaehyun stops walking. “We aren’t?” Jaehyun replies, schooling his face into faux surprise. “Wasn’t this a date? I can’t believe you’re playing with my feelings,” he adds with a mocking hurt tone.

Johnny looks him in the eye, going along with the act. “Sorry Jae, I didn’t think you’d take it this way. You’re not my type,” he says, faking sadness.

“Hey! That’s my line,” Jaehyun chides, playfully bumping Johnny’s shoulder. “You wish you were dating me, I’m a catch.”

Johnny rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Where’s my corn dog?”

Ten minutes later, they've found a spot near the center of the stage, close enough that they're still able to see the performers' faces, but far enough so they're not in the middle of the people pushing their way towards the front, by the barricade. Jaehyun and Johnny are dancing along to the music like everyone else until the last song ends.

“For our next performer, we have our very own Kim Doyoung, a junior from the Music Department!”

Jaehyun whips his head towards the stage so fast, he thinks he feels something crack. _Did he hear that right?_

“Whoa. I didn’t know Doyoung was in the lineup,” Johnny says in surprise.

Jaehyun eyes him suspiciously. “You know Doyoung?” 

Was it some sort of conspiracy that everyone else in the world knew Doyoung and he didn’t?

Johnny nods. “Yeah. I showed you his text earlier,” he answers, waving his cellphone.

 _Dodo bunny is Doyoung?_ Jaehyun doesn’t know what to internally take in first, the fact that Johnny knows Doyoung well enough to have cute phone name rights or that when he thinks about it, Doyoung _does_ look like a bunny. The thought makes Jaehyun coo.

“Wait, I didn’t know _you_ knew Doyoung,” Johnny asks curiously, one eyebrow raised.

Truthfully, he's thought about Doyoung an unhealthy amount since he met him. Which is typical behavior, and if his friends knew about it, they'd tease him about the fact that he falls for anyone he meets. They're not wrong, unfortunately, but at least Jaehyun's gotten better at hiding his crushes. Besides, he writes most people off simply as pretty faces that he may or may not see again. He’s never considered pursuing any of them before… or so he thinks. Maybe Doyoung knowing Taeyong, Donghyuck, Mark, _and now Johnny_ isn't just a coincidence.

“I met him two days ago. You know that eating contest I volunteered for? He joined with Taeyong,” Jaehyun explains.

Jaehyun doesn’t think he said anything wrong, but he can feel Johnny tense up for a second. He’s about to ask what was up when Doyoung steps on stage. He looked like he came straight out of one of those boyfriend look compilations, with his corduroy jacket on top of an oversized hoodie tucked into loose, denim jeans. _It’s unfair how attractive he is,_ Jaehyun thinks.

“Hello!” Doyoung greets. “I didn’t really expect to be singing tonight so I’m really fucking nervous right now,” he tells the crowd.

“You’ll do well!” Johnny shouts beside Jaehyun, making Doyoung look towards their direction, breaking out into a grin when he spots his friend. The moment seemed to calm him down because his posture relaxes. 

When the music starts, Doyoung takes a deep breath. Jaehyun already assumed that Doyoung would be a great singer because of his major, but that doesn’t make his first time hearing Doyoung’s voice any less mind-blowing. Something about the older boy’s voice makes him want it to be the only thing that he hears for the rest of his life. 

Jaehyun can’t help but watch his every move, mesmerized. Doyoung’s gaze begins to wander until it eventually lands on Jaehyun and his eyes widen in surprise, nearly missing a note, but he ends the song perfectly. Jaehyun cheers his heart out with the rest of the audience.

Doyoung urges the crowd to sing along with him for his next songs. He doesn’t look at Jaehyun again. By the time he finishes his third song, Jaehyun has probably felt every emotion possible.

"He's so good!" Jaehyun tells Johnny, excitedly swaying to the music.

Johnny nods in agreement, "Right?"

"It's my last song of the night," Doyoung says into the microphone. "I hope you all enjoyed the past ten minutes!" The crowd cheers for him.

When the first few notes of Doyoung's final song plays, Jaehyun realizes that it's slower than the other songs he performed. He's been watching the older boy intently, so now it was his turn to be surprised when Doyoung catches his gaze.

 _"You so fucking precious when you smile,"_ Doyoung sings, looking directly into Jaehyun's eyes. It's like something in Doyoung flipped a switch, because unlike the rest of the songs, his eyes keep coming back to Jaehyun, almost as if Doyoung wants him to know he's singing the song specifically _to_ him. Something inside Jaehyun stirs. 

When it ends, Jaehyun knows his face is red because he feels hotter than usual. Doyoung bows for one last time and exits the stage, not looking back even once.

"Well, that was… something," Johnny tells him knowingly, wiggling his eyebrows.

Jaehyun blinks a couple of times, not believing that actually happened. "Shut up, Johnny."

"I'm just saying," Johnny points out, "I sure as hell am not getting some tonight, but _you_ might."

"Please," Jaehyun reasons, "It was a song, not an invitation." But to be honest, Jaehyun's not opposed to the possibility.

  
  


-

  
  


Doyoung nearly topples to the floor by the time he returns to Taeyong and Joy. He's never felt more energized in his life, but he's also dying of mortification for the stunt he pulled. He's grateful Taeyong stayed backstage so he couldn't see where Doyoung's eyes were looking, he really didn't need teasing right now. He can still see Jaehyun's face when he closes his eyes. If the other boy didn't get the hint that he was interested, he's extremely dense and Doyoung would chalk it up as a loss. 

Doyoung doesn't know how one person could stand there in the plainest black t-shirt imaginable and yet still look so fucking good. He couldn't even focus properly half the time he was singing because he knew Jaehyun was watching him.

"You did sooo well!" Taeyong praises while hugging him tightly. "I'm so proud of you." 

"Doyoung!" Joy cries out, "You can ask me for anything you want. That was perfect!"

"Thank you," Doyoung breathes, accepting their compliments, still in disbelief about how he performed in front of what probably was his biggest audience. He's too overwhelmed to speak, something his friends pick up on quickly, so they give him some space for the meantime.

Joy offers him a bottle of water and Doyoung drinks from it slowly to calm down. His heart is still beating rapidly.

He takes a seat in one of the plastic chairs next to Taeyong, who's texting someone on his phone if his rapid finger movement is anything to go by. "Jungwoo and Taeil said they came just in time to see you!" he informs Doyoung.

Doyoung leans into his seat, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He checks his notifications, mostly just messages from a group chat. "Should we go meet up with them?" he asks. 

"I told them to meet us by the merch stand," Taeyong tells him. He nods, getting up from his seat. Taeyong follows suit.

They head to the door at the same time a group of people enters. It's WAYV.

They all greet each other and Doyoung receives a round of _"you were awesome!"_ and _"that was incredible"_ for his performance. Taeyong makes an excuse to leave earlier, not waiting for Doyoung to stop him. Doyoung looks for Ten, who was already shaking his head. 

Why do things have to be so tense between them? When Doyoung is sure they just have to talk it out.

"I'll watch your set," Doyoung promises. "I have to go, but see you later!" 

Doyoung walks quickly to catch up to Taeyong, stopping the older boy from taking another step by grabbing his shoulder. "Yong, what was that about?"

Taeyong turns around, biting his lip. "I shouldn't have let them see me. What if Ten gets distracted right before their performance?"

Doyoung rolls his eyes. It's so very _Taeyong_ of him to be worrying about something like this. "I'm sure Ten won't suddenly act out on stage just because he saw you, even if you two _are_ fighting. Which is still dumb, if you ask me. Why can't you just go and talk to each other like sensible human beings?"

"You know I don't like confrontation," Taeyong says quietly, starting to walk again.

"It won't get resolved if you keep ignoring it. It's hard to pick a side between either of you when you're both my friends, you know."

"I know," Taeyong agrees. "But I don't think I should be the one to reach out."

"Taeyong! Doyoung!" Jungwoo calls out, walking rapidly towards them. "Say 'Hi' to my story!" he says and focuses his phone camera to the both of them, so they smile and throw out peace signs. Taeil follows behind him.

"We got your entire performance recorded," Taeil informs Doyoung. "I think Jungwoo already posted it on Twitter."

Jungwoo nods. "It got a lot of views already," he says, showing them his post.

"I posted a story on Instagram too," Taeyong shares. His video is taken from when he was backstage, so Doyoung could see the crowd dancing and singing along to his performance.

"Wow. Why is that getting attention?" Doyoung says, eyes wide while reading the replies praising him.

"If Doyoung blows up, I called it," Jungwoo sings.

"Should we listen to the other bands or do you guys want to look around first?" Taeil asks. "Me and Jungwoo just ate but he was eyeing the food when we passed by the stands."

"Should we go on one of the rides first?" Taeyong proposes.

Doyoung's stomach answers for him, making his friends laugh. "I vote for food."

Two servings of _tteokbokki_ later, they're in line for a photo booth. By now it's nearly 11PM so less people are walking around, most of them preferring to wait for the most anticipated acts of the night.

"We should get closer to the stage soon, WAYV might be up any minute," Taeil reminds them. The rest make sounds of agreement.

Doyoung wonders if Jaehyun's still there. He had connected the dots earlier, realizing it was Jaehyun who was with Johnny. For a moment on the stage, he was thrown off when he saw Jaehyun the first time. He worried that somehow, the problem with his friends would get a _lot_ more complicated. That didn't stop him from singing to Jaehyun though, high off the energy of the moment and running on fake confidence.

His earlier assumptions were extinguished later, when he finally checks his messages and Johnny confirms that Jaehyun wasn't his date and Doyoung didn't just make a fool out of himself. And that Johnny hadn't found someone else in the short time his friend was ignoring him.

When it's finally their turn to take a photo, they spend an unnecessary amount of time shuffling through the props, looking for the silliest ones to wear. After they get the pictures printed, they find a place to settle into for the night. It's especially difficult because the crowd has gotten a little restless and impatient.

Doyoung nearly falls over when a person pushes past him, the action sudden and he's caught off guard, but someone catches him just in time so he doesn't fall flat on his face. He turns his head up to thank his savior, and _of course,_ it's Jaehyun. Doyoung internally screams.

"Thank you," Doyoung gasps. Something about Jaehyun just puts him at a loss for words whenever he sees him. Granted, they've only seen each other two times before this moment. He doesn't know if it's his picture-perfect visuals (it probably is) but he always gets betrayed by his own body.

Doyoung is aware that he's gaping, that they're still in an awkward position, and instead of it being like the movies he's just really embarrassed. Somehow, Jaehyun manages to catch him at quite unfortunate times ( _literally_ this time).

"No problem," Jaehyun replies, smiling at him. They straighten up and Doyoung doesn't miss it when Jaehyun fixes his rumpled jacket for him. For the second time in his life, Doyoung is greeted by the sight of Jaehyun's adorable dimples. The urge to touch them with a fingertip blooms in his mind (and he ends up thinking about it all night). He is truly weak.

Doyoung is speechless. Is it really humanly possible for him to look like _that_?

Realizing that Doyoung has no plans to continue the conversation, Jaehyun takes it upon himself to continue. "You were amazing earlier, by the way," Jaehyun compliments.

Doyoung could only muster another word of thanks. God, his brain has truly gone out of the window.

"Should I be worried that that's the only thing you can say to me?" Jaehyun teases, dimples appearing again.

 _Well then._ "Shut up, I was just startled!" Doyoung defends, face heating up. Time to stop embarrassing himself further.

"If you say so," Jaehyun singsongs mockingly.

Jaehyun is playful and Doyoung admires how easy it is to converse with him, teasing aside. He talks in a way that makes people get comfortable quickly, unlike himself, who always seems too eager that it comes off imposing.

"Whatever," Doyoung huffs. Might as well start a conversation if Jaehyun's feeling chatty. It would give him an excuse to hear more of that smooth, baritone voice of his, at least. "Are you a fan of any of the bands tonight?"

"Yeah. I'm supporting one of my friends," Jaehyun answers. "He's in WAYV."

"No way. Me too," he says, disbelief evident in his voice. Should Doyoung really be surprised at this point? 

Jaehyun's eyes widen. "No shit? We really do have a lot of friends in common, don't we?" Jaehyun asks, amazed.

Doyoung feels the same. "I guess so," he replies, smiling.

"Jaehyun!" someone calls out and they both turn to look at the direction of the voice. It's Johnny walking towards them. 

_Oh no_ , Doyoung thinks. Of course, if Jaehyun's here then Johnny won't be far behind. He immediately looks for Taeyong, who probably heard Johnny's voice by now. His eyes meet the panicked eyes of his friend. "Where have you been dude? I was looking everywhere and you weren't answering your phone," Johnny says, and when he notices Doyoung adds, "Doyoung! You looked cool up there, earlier."

"I ran into Doyoung," he hears Jaehyun tell Johnny. He watches Taeyong try to leave as inconspicuously as possible, using Taeil and Jungwoo as a shield to hide him away from Johnny's line of sight. Doyoung doesn't hear what they're talking about, but they must have expected him to answer. Taeyong fails miserably when Johnny and Jaehyun look towards where Doyoung was looking, an error on his part. 

"I... gotta go," Johnny mumbles, going past them to where Taeyong is heading. The other boy has ditched Jungwoo and Taeil now, who look on in amusement, and has started brisk walking away from the area. Johnny will probably catch up to him soon, what with his long legs and all.

"What was that all about?" Jaehyun queries. The expression on his face tells Doyoung that Johnny hasn't told him anything.

"A disaster waiting to happen," Doyoung answers, shaking his head. It's probably only a matter of time.

Jaehyun looks at him curiously. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really," he answers honestly. "I propose to let them deal with their own issues privately."

Jaehyun nods in understanding. "Fair point."

"Cute alpaca, by the way," Doyoung diverts the conversation, looking at the stuffed animal Jaehyun has been holding this entire time.

"Do you want it?" Jaehyun offers, holding the alpaca out in front of him, grinning. 

Doyoung does, actually. "Where'd you get it?" he asks instead.

"I won it at one of the game booths," the younger boy answers, pointing to the direction with his head.

_Later that night, Doyoung sleeps hugging his new alpaca friend–that Jaehyun helped him win–tightly, with a small smile on his lips._

  
  


-

  
  


Jaehyun's favorite things in the world are his record player and LP collection and the feeling he gets when he plays with little kids. Whenever he mentions that he's majoring in Early Childhood Education, he gets equal reactions of disbelief and understanding. And when he's asked why he picked that major, he simply says that he really likes kids. Which is true, but even more than that, he knows how important the early years are for mental and emotional development and how necessary it is to provide them support, so he thinks it was a natural choice. He remembers always being surrounded with love as a child, so he wants to teach kids with that same feeling from his childhood.

That's why his favorite days are Thursdays, because that's when the kids from the campus kindergarten visit the library. He just finished reading to them a while ago, and their teacher, Ms. Choi is rounding them up after the session. 

Jaehyun's talking one of the rowdier kids out of drawing over a book with crayons, when he notices a familiar figure pass by him, heading towards the exit. Jaehyun quickly takes the box of crayons away, promising San, the little boy, candies in exchange.

"Keep this a secret between us, okay?" he whispers conspiratorially and San nods eagerly, accepting the bribe.

"Jaehyun!" a voice calls out quietly and Jaehyun turns around to be greeted by a smile he's gotten used to seeing lately. This is the first time he's seen Doyoung without the company of anyone he knows.

He returns the smile. "Hey," he greets, "Haven't seen you around here before."

"That sounds like the beginning of a pick-up line," Doyoung teases. Jaehyun notices the book he's holding in his left hand.

"You got me," he says guiltily, both arms raised up his sides, making Doyoung giggle. "But seriously, to what do I owe your presence?"

Ms. Choi interrupts them to inform Jaehyun that they're leaving, so they both wave goodbye to the little kids who call out _"Bye Jaehyun hyung!"_ or _"Bye Jaehyun oppa!"_ as they pass. Jaehyun looks on in fondness.

"The main library is closed for renovation, but I really needed this one book for a research paper and the only available copy is in this library," Doyoung explains once they've left, holding up the book in his hand.

"That's all you went for?" Jaehyun asks, mouth quirking up in amusement. Doyoung nods. "Not anything else?"

"Nope," Doyoung replies easily, but his eyes say they know what Jaehyun's getting at.

Jaehyun pretends to frown. "Are you saying you didn't go out of your way to check out a book from my building without wanting to see me?"

Doyoung raises his eyebrow. "Pretty big assumption there." 

"Guess I'm wrong," Jaehyun pouts, shoulders drooping for effect. He hopes Doyoung knows he's only kidding and doesn't think he's being too full of himself.

"Okay you got me," Doyoung sighs defeatedly, biting his lower lip. "I might have hoped a little bit that I'd come across you."

"Hm?" Jaehyun cups a hand to his ear, "What was that? You wanted to see me?" Jaehyun's having way too much fun with the admission.

Doyoung rolls his eyes, scoffing. "Oh my God, you're unbearable. I really just needed this book! So I'm leaving since I've borrowed it." There wasn’t any real heat to his words, but he stomps away anyway.

"Not so fast!" Jaehyun calls after him, a little bit too loudly, if the glare the librarian gave him was any indication. He apologizes to her with Doyoung snickering behind.

They exit the library to avoid any further incidents. Jaehyun asks Doyoung if he's eaten, since it's a little past lunch time, to which the older boy replies he hasn't.

"Perfect! I know for a fact that our cafeteria serves the best fried chicken on campus," Jaehyun says cheerfully, leading the way. Somehow, he knows Doyoung will follow.

They sit at an outdoor table, eating mostly in silence with a few words of conversation in between. Jaehyun thought it would be more awkward, but it just feels nice. It's been a long time since he made any new friends.

In this angle, the sunlight is framing Doyoung perfectly, almost like a glowing halo surrounding him. Doyoung's looking at his phone so Jaehyun takes advantage of the moment, he hasn't had the chance to be this close to Doyoung, the natural sunlight highlighting his features, the other times they've met. Up close like this, he can see a tiny scar near Doyoung's mouth. (Future Jaehyun would spend nights wondering about how that scar came to be.)

Doyoung eats a mouthful of the chicken. Jaehyun can really see the resemblance now, how Doyoung chews like a bunny. It's sort of adorable.

Only when Doyoung looks back at him consciously does Jaehyun realize he's been staring too long. "What is it?" Doyoung asks after taking another bite. "Do I have food on my face?"

Jaehyun shakes his head. "No. You just look like a bunny when you're eating," Jaehyun answers honestly, making Doyoung frown. Which only makes Jaehyun chuckle. "Did I say something bad?"

"I just don't see the resemblance," Doyoung says. "You were right by the way, this fried chicken is really good," he adds.

"Yeah?" Jaehyun asks, "If you decide to borrow another book from the library we can eat the _jeyuk-bokkeum_ next time, it's my favorite."

Doyoung raises his eyebrow. "Next time?" He says it in a different tone from before, face unreadable, something Jaehyun can't quite decipher.

Jaehyun falters, wondering if he read the atmosphere wrong. The thought that he completely misinterpreted Doyoung's actions from last night flits through his brain. He doesn't know what to feel about that.

Jaehyun shrugs in reply. "Only if you want to, I'm not forcing you or anything." He starts playing with his leftovers, suddenly feeling anxious about screwing things up before they even began.

"Excuse me?" a voice interrupts. They both look at the speaker, a girl Jaehyun doesn't recognize. "Are you the one who sang at the music fair last night?" she asks Doyoung.

"That's me," he answers, looking surprised.

"Oh! I was right. I really enjoyed your performance. You were great!"

Jaehyun watches Doyoung's face turn red from the compliment. If he learned anything last night, it's that Doyoung gets shy when he's praised. "That means a lot. Thank you." Doyoung says.

"I really mean it," the girl says honestly. "I only wanted to say that. Have a nice day!" she says, and then walks away.

"Hyung," Jaehyun calls out to Doyoung who hasn't moved for a while.

Doyoung blinks at him. "That's never happened to me before," he admits. "Feels weird."

Jaehyun looks him in the eye, "I hope you mean a good weird because you deserve it."

"Definitely in a good way. Just new," Doyoung agrees. "What were we talking about again?"

"Nothing important," Jaehyun says too quickly, suddenly not wanting to hear the answer to his invitation.

"Really?" Doyoung quips. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that maybe _you_ should drop by _my_ building sometime. We don't have the best fried chicken but we have a dessert café nearby that serves a mean lemon cheesecake."

"I just might take you up on that offer," Jaehyun answers, feeling giddy and relieved. Doyoung smiles his gummy smile at him again and Jaehyun _melts_.

Doyoung glances at the watch he's wearing, eyes widening. "Shit. I have class in fifteen and it's all the way across campus. I have to go," he apologizes. He stands up from his seat.

Jaehyun nods, standing up as well. "I'll walk you to the lobby." Any excuse to spend more time with Doyoung is a good excuse. He watches Doyoung walk so fast he's almost running, mouth downturned into a slight frown.

"See you," Doyoung tells him, nearly running into the glass door because he wasn't looking in front of him to look at Jaehyun. The younger boy has to stifle a laugh.

"Doyoung hyung, wait!" Jaehyun calls out. He just remembered he forgot to ask him something. 

Doyoung stops in his tracks, eyes on him. "What?"

"Are you going to the party tomorrow?" he asks quickly.

"Depends," Doyoung replies. "Are you going?" he throws the question back. 

Jaehyun blinks at him. "Yeah, I am," he answers.

"Then I guess I'm going," Doyoung says. Before Jaehyun could even process his response, Doyoung leaves quickly, not even letting Jaehyun say goodbye.

  
  


-

  
  


Doyoung practically throws himself onto the couch in the student lounge, making the other people in the room look at him weirdly, but he really couldn't be bothered about it right now. His legs are still sore from the unexpected running he had to do to get to his class on time for the pre-lesson quiz. 

Taeyong's class should be finished by now, he thinks, fishing his phone out of his backpack to text him, pulling things out of his bag and leaving them on the floor in the process.

"Stop hogging the couch," Taeyong's voice says somewhere above him, motioning with his hands for Doyoung to scoot over. Doyoung rolls on his side to make space for his friend.

Taeyong frowns when he notices the mess Doyoung made with his stuff on the floor, picking it up and putting it back in his backpack. "I was about to do that," Doyoung defends.

Taeyong looks like he hadn't slept a wink last night. 

Doyoung eyes him suspiciously. "So, are you gonna tell me what happened willingly, or do I have to force it out of you?"

After Taeyong's failed attempt to escape from Johnny, Doyoung hadn't heard from him for the rest of the night. He's pretty sure he called him at least ten times, but Taeyong didn't pick up even once. Johnny had been the same, so he figured they were together, at least.

Taeyong groans deeply, eyes closed. "Can't I have a nap first?"

"The faster you tell me the faster you can pass out for the rest of the day."

Taeyong lets out a dramatic sigh. "Fine, but not here." 

A short bus ride and two sugary drinks later, they enter Doyoung's empty apartment. Doyoung carelessly kicks off his sneakers at the entrance, leaving Taeyong to grumble about it and put it in the shoe rack for him.

"Are you hungry?" Doyoung asks his friend, heading to the small kitchen corner to get two glasses of water. "I think I still have some leftovers."

"Not really," Taeyong replies, claiming the couch, hugging one of the pillows. "Can I sleep over? I don't think I have any energy to go back to my dorm room anymore."

"Sure," Doyoung agrees, sitting beside him and placing the glasses on the small table in front of them. "So?" he draws out, one eyebrow raised, looking at Taeyong.

"So," Taeyong parrots. "What do you wanna know?"

The thing is, Doyoung has no clue how everything between Taeyong and Johnny _and Ten_ went down. Taeyong had kept it a secret from them for weeks until Doyoung found out from Ten. He remembers Ten suddenly not speaking to Taeyong anymore, and when Doyoung asked him about it, all he got were vague answers about betrayal and ex-boyfriends. Taeyong made more sense, explaining how he and Johnny, Ten's ex, had been seeing each other for a while now and Ten somehow found out about it and got mad at Taeyong.

Frankly, Doyoung didn't see what was wrong about it because Ten and Johnny had been broken up for a year, and the only thing that could explain his outburst was if he still had feelings for Johnny.

Doyoung was the one who advised Taeyong to stop talking to Johnny for a while until he fixed things with Ten (spoiler: he still hasn't), which he did up until last night. In hindsight, maybe doing that just made everything worse.

"What happened with Johnny last night?" Doyoung asks.

Taeyong looks up at the ceiling. "We talked. I told him why I've been ignoring him. He offered to talk to Ten for me," Doyoung lets out a noise of complaint so Taeyong holds up a hand to stop him, "And before you say anything, I told him how that was a bad idea."

"That's it?"

"We also made out in his bed the entire night, but I'm sure you don't wanna hear me talk about how good he is with his tongue," Taeyong cuts in, grinning.

Doyoung makes a disgruntled sound. They probably did more than make out but he's glad Taeyong spared him the details. "God, no. I don't need to know what you do in your free time. I'm happy you and Johnny cleared the air, but what about Ten? Are you gonna ignore him forever?"

Taeyong sighs frustratedly, covering his face with his hand. "I don't see why _I_ have to be the one to approach him when I've done nothing wrong. If he's mad at me then he should say it to my face, not act like I don't exist. I don't wanna hear you talking me into apologizing to him again, okay?"

Doyoung presses his lips, silent. He admits he might have been pressuring Taeyong too much. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Taeyong apologizes, reaching out to take Doyoung's hand in his. "I'm just done feeling guilty for something I have no control over."

Doyoung smiles a little at the gesture. He's too embarrassed to admit this out loud, but he's glad Taeyong takes his overbearing nature in stride.

"Enough about me," Taeyong adds, sitting up from his previous position on the couch. "It's like whenever we talk, it's always about my problems. What have _you_ been up to?"

Doyoung's life is easily less exciting than Taeyong's, that's for sure. "You know that class I have with the professor that locks his door?" Taeyong nods. "I almost got locked out of the room earlier. I had to run across campus to get there on time."

"Imagine Kim Doyoung missing a class? Unheard of," Taeyong teases, making Doyoung roll his eyes. So what if he doesn't like skipping? "Wait, what were you doing outside the building? Don't you have another class before that one?" Taeyong asks, eyebrows furrowed.

Sometimes he hates how good Taeyong is at remembering trivial things. He hasn't considered telling anyone about Jaehyun yet, in case it doesn't work out. They've barely known each other for a week, after all. Flirting didn't have to mean anything.

"The earlier class was cancelled so I was borrowing a book I needed for this other class," Doyoung explains. 80% of that statement was true, Taeyong didn't need to know the book was suggested reading. Or how he went through all his syllabi to check a book out from the Education building on purpose. He didn't actually expect Jaehyun to be there, which was a nice surprise. Maybe the universe is on his side.

Taeyong still has his eyes narrowed in concentration. "The one about educational psychology?" _Busted._

Doyoung nervously chews his lips, looking at his friend. Taeyong has his thinking face on, and that means Doyoung will be found out in no time. "Yeah, how did you know?" 

"I picked it up off the floor earlier," Taeyong deadpans. "You know, you're not as sneaky as you think you are Doie. Jaehyun huh?"

Doyoung only smiles at him guiltily. "What? The real crime is you being friends for him for two years and never introducing us," he huffs.

Taeyong gapes at him incredulously, "What happened to _'I'm emotionally incapable of being in a relationship'_? Hm? Did the dimples suddenly change your whole outlook on life?"

"Yes," Doyoung agrees easily. Must every romance be heartstopping and meaningful? He's not here looking for the love of his life anymore, he just found someone he's interested in and who's interested back. "He's cute and he's fun to talk to. I don't see why I can't try."

Taeyong looks at him like he wants to say more, but Doyoung doesn't really wanna talk about his past relationships right now. He knows he hasn't had the best track record. This is exactly _why_ he didn't want anyone to know about Jaehyun yet.

"I'm really happy you're trying," Taeyong says honestly. "But Jaehyun's my friend too, so if you break his heart I'm gonna break your bones." 

  
  


-

  
  


The party hit off about an hour ago and a lot of the people who showed up were already on their way to getting drunk. Johnny's DJing tonight, Yuta's away for the weekend, and Mark said he wasn't in the mood, so Jaehyun's alone by the bar, clutching a bottle of beer while silently watching things unfold. If it were any other Friday night, he'd probably be on the dance floor getting lost in the music (or at least not holding a one-man pity party in the middle of a packed bar).

Jaehyun has at least one goal in mind tonight: get Doyoung's number. Sure, he could just ask for it from one of the many friends they have in common, but where's the fun in that? The problem is, he hasn't spotted Doyoung yet, and his desire to stay at the party is decreasing every minute. Jaehyun feels like he got stood up even though it wasn't a date. He really needs to get it together and stop acting like a lovesick idiot.

"What's gotten you all sulky?" someone asks from beside him, Jaehyun barely managing to pick up the sound because of the loud music. He knows he's being dramatic, but a little bit of hope trickles through the cracks of his broken heart. Maybe this is like the moment in the movies when the protagonist turns around and the person he's looking for is right in front of him.

He turns his head to be met with the all too familiar face of his friend. Oh.

"Why are you looking at me like I broke your Switch in half?" Sicheng asks curiously, eyebrows furrowed. Jaehyun must have had a sad expression on his face.

"Nothing," Jaehyun sighs loudly. "I just thought you were someone else," he says, trying hard not to look too disappointed. It's his fault for getting his own hopes up, not Sicheng's. 

Sicheng gives him another look. "You're with someone? Did they ditch you?"

He holds up his hand for Jaehyun to wait before answering, using his other hand to flag down the bartender and then order about half a dozen drinks.

"Not exactly," Jaehyun answers. "Are _you_ with anyone?"

"Yeah, I pre-gamed with Ten and some friends. We just got here, actually. Wanna hang out with us?" Sicheng offers.

"Sure," Jaehyun agrees. Anything to get his mind off Doyoung for the time being.

They walk over to the booth where Sicheng's friends are sitting and Jaehyun has already reconciled himself to the idea of not seeing Doyoung that when he looks at the table, he stops dead in his tracks, conversation with Sicheng getting cut off.

"Jae, are you okay?" his friend nudges.

Frankly, Jaehyun isn't. Not when Doyoung is sitting a mere meter away from him, wearing a shirt with an impossibly low neckline, exposing his collarbones. And the neckline doesn't even matter because even with the dim lighting inside the bar, he can tell that Doyoung's top is translucent. Jaehyun feels like a Victorian man seeing bare ankles for the first time.

"Y-yeah," he stumbles, trying to get himself together. Doyoung hasn't seen him yet, busy talking to his friend. Jaehyun thinks his name is Jungwoo and he recognizes him from last Wednesday.

"Jaehyun!" Ten calls out, alerting the table of his presence. He can feel Doyoung's eyes on him now.

"Hey," he greets. "Sicheng invited me over."

They squeeze themselves to fit inside the booth and at some point, a waiter serves them their drinks. Jaehyun's sitting at the open end next to a boy with brown hair that hasn't looked up from his phone since he got there. Turns out it was Donghyuck.

"Can't believe Jeno, that traitor, is hanging out with stupid Mark," Donghyuck mutters lowly, not intending for anyone to hear it. Jaehyun hears it anyway.

"Hyuck," he says to get his friend's attention. 

"Huh?" comes Donghyuck's disoriented reply. "Jaehyun? When did you get here?" and without even waiting for Jaehyun to reply, begins typing away again.

So much for starting a conversation, Jaehyun thinks. Doyoung is sitting on Donghyuck's other side sipping a cocktail, but Jaehyun hasn't looked at him yet, suddenly feeling shy.

They catch up with each other and tell stories about their week, Doyoung mentioning how he got roped into singing for the music fair. There are only three other people at the table and with the exception of Donghyuck and himself, all of them are Performing Arts majors. They're busy talking about something Jaehyun can't follow, so instead of listening, he decides to quell his curiosity instead.

____________________________

**jaehyoonz (11:32)**

dude are u & hyuck fighting???

**morkles (11:33)**

… how'd u know

**jaehyoonz (11:33)**

im beside him rn n he's cussing u out

**morkles (11:34)**

i pissed him off on purpose but i think i did it too well lool

im making a surprise for him rn so i couldn't let him stay w me

can u do me a solid and look out for him

**jaehyoonz (11:35)**

do i even wanna know what u did 

yeah ok

_____________________________

"I thought we were supposed to have fun tonight. Why are you glued to your phone?" Doyoung asks Donghyuck, who's still staring at his screen. "You can't say you're done with Mark and then proceed to flood his messages with 'i hate you's."

"Leave me alone," Donghyuck protests.

"Let's all put our phones on the table, whoever touches their phone first has to pay for the next round of drinks," Jungwoo proposes, placing his phone in the middle first.

Donghyuck makes a noise of complaint, but Doyoung swipes his phone from him anyway. Jaehyun puts his phone down on the table too, not missing the fact that he and Doyoung have the same phone model. Sicheng and Ten do the same.

"Jeez. How did I get stuck hanging out with you old people again?" Donghyuck grumbles, eyes sharp with a pout starting to form.

"This isn't a bad look on you Hyuckie. You're like a baby cub who thinks he's threatening." Jaehyun pinches his cheek just to be annoying, snickering when he whines.

"Last time I checked, you were the one who wanted to hang out with these 'old people', kid," Ten points out.

"Whatever. I thought this would be a _fun_ party."

"I'm sure they're having fun," Jungwoo says, pointing to another table with some Liberal Arts majors playing a round of Truth or Dare. 

"Let's go join," Ten says, already standing up.

"I'm down," Sicheng replies.

"You go," Donghyuck says, shooing them away. "I'll just drink my sadness away."

"Wanna dance?" Doyoung whispers in his ear, voice making the small hairs on his nape stand up, while everyone else is preoccupied with the conversation. It's the first time Doyoung talked to him tonight.

Instead of replying, Jaehyun takes his hand in his and leads him right to the middle of the dance floor, not caring if the others realized they were gone. They start dancing to the music, Jaehyun putting his hands on Doyoung's waist to pull him closer.

He shamelessly checks Doyoung out in all his glory, prior shyness washed away by the shots he drank a while back. The amount of skin Doyoung was showing, pairing his top with heavily distressed jeans, should be inappropriate, yet somehow he pulls the look off.

Jaehyun rests his head on top of Doyoung's shoulder, mouth attaching to his ear. Doyoung smells like something citrusy and fresh. "You look really good tonight Doie," he whispers, much like Doyoung did to him earlier.

Doyoung giggles and he can feel the vibrations because of how close they are. Doyoung looks him in the eye, "So I'm Doie now?" he asks, one side of his lip quirked up in amusement. Jaehyun nods, eyes challenging him to disagree. "You look unfairly good too, by the way. Even when you're only wearing another ridiculously plain shirt," Doyoung adds.

Jaehyun barks out a laugh, looking at his own outfit. It's a black short-sleeved button-down tucked into black jeans. "Thank you? Am I supposed to take that as a compliment or are you insulting me right now?"

"It's definitely a compliment," Doyoung clarifies, resting his arms on Jaehyun's shoulders and swaying his hips sensuously. "You look so effortlessly attractive without trying. Unfair if you ask me," Doyoung huffs.

"I can't do anything about that," Jaehyun grins, shaking his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Johnny up on stage, where his setup is, smirking at him. He looks at Doyoung again. "You know, I nearly thought you weren't gonna show up tonight," Jaehyun admits, if only to keep the conversation going. Doyoung's presence seems to remove his brain-to-mouth filter and he always manages to blurt out the most impulsive things to say.

"I had half a mind not to when I saw the atrocious door price, to be honest," Doyoung jokes.

Jaehyun laughs. "It's a good thing I got in for free then."

When they return to their booth after dancing, only Sicheng and Donghyuck are there.

"Where are the others?" Doyoung asks, slipping into the seat right beside Donghyuck, who was passed out. "It smells a little funny here," he notes, sniffing the air.

"Jungwoo's doing body shots off someone last time I saw him and I think Ten started an illegal gambling ring," Sicheng replies, sounding breathless.

"What's gotten you so winded?" Jaehyun asks, sitting on the opposite side.

"Donghyuck was playing with us earlier and he got dared to drink a whole cup of the drink they were passing around, but he ended up throwing it all back up in the restroom," Sicheng recounts, shuddering. "I brought him back here and he just passed out. Don't leave me again I don't want to end up babysitting any more people."

Jaehyun mentally apologizes to Mark for not keeping his word.

"I knew I shouldn't have let him convince me to take him with us," Doyoung groans, rubbing his temples. "He gets too reckless when he's upset."

By the time Jungwoo and Ten return to the table, it's half an hour past midnight and Jaehyun's feeling a little woozy, the effects of the alcohol already kicking in. Johnny finished his shift and joined them at the table earlier, challenging them to a round of beer pong and then following it up with three rounds of shots. He admits he may have drunk more than his usual just so he could show off his high alcohol tolerance. Future Jaehyun will call him dumb and tell him Doyoung wouldn't have cared regardless of how much alcohol he can hold. He'll let future Jaehyun worry about it though, present Jaehyun feels too heavy to move.

"I have to take this one home," Doyoung says, standing up too quickly and then sitting back down again, groaning. He pats a still unconscious Donghyuck in the head, taking his and Donghyuck's phones off the table.

"Doyoung's paying!" Ten slurs out a little too loudly.

Doyoung rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'll pick up the tab."

Jaehyun can only nod. It's not like he can tell Doyoung to stay when all he wants to do is curl up into his own bed and sleep the rest of the day away. He offers to fetch them a cab, helping Doyoung get Donghyuck inside the car.

"Thanks for tonight," Doyoung says when he’s settled in, giving him a small, grateful smile.

It's only when Jaehyun's tucked into bed much, much later does he realize he still hasn't gotten Doyoung's number.

**Author's Note:**

> thank u if u made it this far into reading and i hope u liked it !! i haven't written in a hot minute but i was procrastinating and i kinda missed writing so u_u this happened and it ended up being so long wtf,,, this was supposed to be a one shot but ending it here for now seemed appropriate lmao (hoping for my own sanity that churning pt 2 out won't be so hard)


End file.
